Turning Tables
by QueenSwan89
Summary: Based on a prompt from Chelseadaggz. Set to Turning Tables by Adele. Established Swan Queen. Emma and Regina can't stop bickering and fighting, will they be able to make it work, or will they end it all? Rated M for a small sex scene, not too bad.


**_Close enough to start a war  
All that I have is on the floor  
God only knows what we're fighting for  
All that I say, you always say more_**

"Honey, I'm home," Emma called, tossing her jacket over the railing to the staircase. She kicked off her boots, muddy as they were, knowing that if she tracked in the dirt Regina would kill her. Or punish her, rather, somehow. Seemed like all she did lately pissed off the brunette and she felt herself tip-toeing around her. Henry came bounding down the stairs and stopped in front of Emma.

"Hey, how was your day?" Henry asked her.

"Hey, kid. My day was ok, how was yours?" she asked, ruffling his hair on her way past him up the stairs.

"Good. I learned about the planets. I have to make a solar system. Will you help me?"

"Sure, kid. I want to take a shower first, but after dinner we'll go to the store and get supplies."

She continued walking up the stairs to her and Regina's bedroom. She opened the door slowly in case Regina was laying down with one of her migraines. They seemed to be happening a lot since Emma had moved in several months ago. Sure enough, Regina was lying on the bed facing the window and Emma tiptoed past her into the bathroom. She stripped her clothes off, dropping them on the floor and turning on the water as hot as it would go. She stepped into the shower and tried to be as quiet as possible, but she heard the door opening slowly when she was about to get out. She didn't turn off the water but stuck her head out.

"Hey, do you want to join me?" Emma asked, reaching her hand towards Regina who was standing in front of her, arms crossed, in black slacks and a crisp, white button up.

"No, I do not want to join you."

"Oook," Emma said slowly. "Then what can I do for you?"

"You could not be such a mess and put your dirty clothes in the hamper. Better yet, you could do a load of laundry. You could use the shower in the main bathroom so that I can get some rest from this migraine."

"Regina, what did I do now?"

"I'm just tired of cleaning up after two kids."

Emma rolled her eyes, grabbing her towel and stepped out of the shower. She wrapped the towel around her thin body and stepped toward Regina. She pulled the other woman close into a hug, one arm around the brunette's waist, the other hand cradling the dark-haired head, massaging Regina's scalp.

"Please stop referring to me as a child. I've lived by myself nearly my entire adult life, I will clean up after myself, I just don't do it the second I get undressed like you do, but if you would give me time, I would get to it."

"Ok, dear." Regina pulled away from the hug, still obviously upset.

"Would you tell me what this is really about, Regina?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Right, ok. Maybe later, then. Do you want me to make something for dinner?"

"And eat charred food for a meal? No, thanks, I'll get to dinner in a few."

"Don't bother, Regina. Henry and I will just go to Granny's and get something before we get stuff for his project." Emma stormed away from Regina. She grabbed some clothes from the dresser and put them on, not even paying attention to what she was putting on. She stomped down the stairs and told Henry to get his jacket.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"To get dinner and supplies for your project."

"Is mom coming?"

"No, she's in a bad mood, so it's just going to be us two, that ok?" She knew she shouldn't have told him Regina was in a bad mood, it wasn't something he needed to hear and she shouldn't have put him in the middle of their argument, but she was pissed. If Regina wanted to keep referring to her as a child, she would act like it.

**_I can't keep up with your turning tables  
Under your thumb I can't breathe_**

The two had dinner at Granny's and Henry was being awfully quiet compared to his usual self. Emma was, too, but she knew she needed to liven up the conversation for Henry's sake.

"Kid, what kind of supplies do you want?"

"Styrofoam? I was thinking we could paint Styrofoam balls and get wire sticks to make them stand? I need a really big one for the sun! And some paint."

"Sounds like it'll be fun, kid. When is it due?"

"Friday."

"And your teacher just gave it to you today? Henry, I doubt your teacher would give you something on Wednesday that is due on Friday."

"No, I'm sorry, I got it Monday."

"Why didn't you tell your mom or me on Monday?"

"You guys have been fighting a lot this week and I didn't want to add stress. I was going to ask grandma to help me, but she's a teacher and I don't think that would be allowed. Grandpa has been working so much that I figured I didn't want to bother him with that."

"Henry, no matter what is going on with me and your mom you need to tell us this stuff. You come first, no matter what, ok?"

"Yeah, ok."

The two went to the store after Emma put her leftovers and Regina's takeout salad in the car, and picked up supplies for Henry's project. When they arrived home, Emma told Henry to unload his supplies onto the dining room table and Emma put the food in the fridge. She then went in search of Regina. She found her in the study, sitting at her desk going through papers from work. The brunette had been reinstated as Mayor after the rescue trip in Neverland.

"Hey, Gina, we grabbed you a salad from Granny's in case you didn't eat. It's in the fridge."

"Em, come here," Regina said, looking at the blonde, ashamed, and moved her chair back away from the desk to make room for Emma to stand in front of her. Emma walked over and leaned against the desk in front of Regina. The brunette took one of the blonde's hands. "I'm sorry, dear, for how I acted earlier. It wasn't fair, I shouldn't have taken my frustrations out on you."

"I know." Emma smirked at Regina, unable to stay mad at her. The brunette hooked two fingers into the belt buckle around the blonde's hips and pulled her down so she was straddling Regina's legs. She them moved her arms around Emma's back, sliding her hands underneath the blue shirt that the blonde had thrown on. She caressed the bare skin of her back and kissed the blonde's chest above her shirt.

"Can you forgive me?"

"Mmm, if you keep doing that, I can." Emma tangled her fingers into dark hair, gently directing her lover's full lips to her neck, then running one hand down Regina's back. The brunette moved her lips up along Emma's neck and along her jaw, until they met Emma's mouth. The two kissed fiercely. It was Emma's favorite thing about their fights was that they always had incredible make up sex. "But, Gina, later, after Henry goes to bed. He has a project due Friday that we've gotta get done."

Regina's mouth had gone back to working on Emma's neck while the blonde spoke. "Are you sure you want me to stop?" Regina asked, between kisses on the blonde's throat.

"No, I don't want you to stop, but I need you to so I can go help him. Eat dinner and you can help us if you want. We're making a solar system." Emma pushed herself off Regina's legs and pulled on the brunette's hand. "Come on, we'll do it as a family."

Regina allowed Emma to pull her out of the study and into the kitchen. She let go of the hand that was pulling her and grabbed the salad from the fridge, putting it on a plate and taking it to the table with a glass of red wine to watch her family make a solar system.

"Mom, are you going to help us?" Henry asked when he saw her sitting and eating.

"Sure, honey, right after I've finished eating dinner."

"Does that mean you guys are done fighting?" He looked to Emma and then back to Regina, who looked at Emma herself and scowled.

"Come on, like he didn't hear it," Emma defended herself.

Regina just shook her head and finished her meal. The three painted all of their Styrofoam and set them on wax paper to dry. After they tucked Henry into bed, Regina walked into the bedroom followed by Emma. Peeling off her clothes and laying them across the hamper, Regina pulled on a silk nightie that ended just below her bottom. Emma hummed her approval, now in just a white tank top and blue boy shorts, herself. She walked up behind her love and wrapped her arms around the small waist in front of her, kissing the brunette's neck.

Regina pulled away and sat on the bed, pulling a pillow from Emma's side and tossing it at the blonde. "Enjoy the guest room, dear."

"What the hell, Regina? What did I do now?"

"You think it's appropriate to discuss our arguments with our child?"

"First, he isn't a child, he's a teenager now."

"He's thirteen! That's hardly old enough to be included in your parents arguments!"

"Anyway, second, he heard us fighting, and all I told him was that you were in a bad mood."

"Sure, nothing to do with you being a slob."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Whatever Regina. Tell me when the mood swings stop, and enjoy sleeping alone." Emma slammed the bedroom door behind her, taking her pillow into the guest room and pulling the sheets back. She climbed in a let her thoughts consume her. Everything about Regina turned her on, except when she was being like this, then it was like everything made her angry or sad. The blonde tossed under the covers, finding herself unable to fall asleep without the warmth of Regina's body wrapped in hers. The need to reach over and feel the other woman hurt her and she began to cry.

**_So, I won't let you close enough to hurt me  
No, I won't rescue you to just desert me  
I can't give you the heart you think you gave me  
It's time to say goodbye to turning tables  
To turning tables_**

Somewhere in the middle of the night, Emma jerked herself out of bed and crept into their bedroom. She put her jeans from that day on and a clean pair of socks from the top drawer. She grabbed her blue leather jacket from the hook on the door and grabbed her wallet from the dresser, heading back to the hallway.

"Emma, _what_ are you doing?" Regina drawled, sleepily.

"I can't sleep, I'm going to go to my parent's place for the night. I'll, um, I'm going to pick up Henry tomorrow for school, and I'll bring him home tomorrow night, too. We'll talk then."

"You're leaving?" Regina asked, shocked, getting out of bed and standing in front of Emma. "You're leaving me?"

"I just think we need time. We keep arguing over anything and everything and I'm tired of it. I love you so much, but I can't keep feeling like I'm not good enough for you. I'm just going to stay a couple days with them, then we'll talk this weekend and see what we can work out."

"Emma, please, I need you, just come to bed and think it over in the morning. Please?"

"I don't think I can, I think I'm done arguing all the time. Right now I just need to think." Emma lowered her eyes so she wasn't looking into the hurt chocolate eyes that she had come to love so much. She walked away from the only person she had every really been madly in love with and forced herself down the stairs and out of the house. It wasn't a long distance to her parent's loft, so she forced herself to walk, tears pouring down her face as she did. She knew it wasn't really safe to drive when she could barely tell the stars from the lights as blurry as her tears made her vision.

She reached up above the doorframe once she got to her parents house, having left her keys at the manor. She found the key Snow so trustingly left there and pulled it down, unlocked the door and replaced the key. She went to the cupboard where she had always left the whiskey when she lived there and pulled that out, followed by a tumbler to drink it out of. She gave that a second thought and put the tumbler back, thinking it would be stupid to dirty a glass when she felt like chugging the bottle anyway.

She had drank thrice from the bottle before a light flicked on and David walked into the kitchen with his sword in front of him, ready to attack.

"Emma?"

"Yep."

"What are you doing here? In the middle of the night?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"So you're drinking whiskey at our place?"

"Had a fight. I think I left Regina."

"Oh, Emma." David walked around the counter and sat next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders. "What happened? Do you want to talk about it?"

"We just have been fighting so much and I know it's stupid, but I feel like I'll never be good enough for her."

"Emma, she loves you, anyone can see that. Are you sure you've exhausted all of your options?"

"I don't know, I just need a couple nights away from her right now to figure out what I want to do from here."

"Ok, well you know you're welcome here anytime. Will Henry come over or will he stay with her?"

"No, he'll stay with her I guess. I want his life to be as normal as possible."

"Ok, Emma, do you think maybe you've had enough to drink? Maybe you should go to sleep."

"Yeah, yeah, I gotta get Henry for school tomorrow. Will you have mom make sure I'm awake?"

"Ok, Emma. Goodnight." He sat and waited to make sure she made it to the spare bed before getting up and heading to bed himself.

In the morning, after Snow woke Emma up and they avoided the conversation about Regina, Emma headed to get Henry. She knocked on the door of the manor. She felt silly doing it, it was her house, too, or was for the past several months. Henry opened the door and Emma was a little relieved to see it wasn't Regina.

"Hey kid! Can you do me a favor? I'll get your bag, but will you go grab my car keys from the counter?" He nodded, leaving his bag on the porch and heading back in, leaving the door open. A moment later he came back and said her keys weren't there, so she sent him back in to look for them. She heard him running up the stairs, and no more than half a minute passed before Regina was walking to the open door with Emma's keys in hand.

"Looking for these? Or rather, making our son look for them? Really mature, Emma."

"Oh and starting an argument is the good way to solve this, Regina."

"Emma, you're the one who chose to leave. No matter what has happened between us, I've never left you, I've been here since I promised I would, but here you are, things get real and get scary and you run."

Emma looked away from the brunette, who despite her stone mask was obviously hurting. "Henry!" she called into the foyer. "Come on, I've got them, we have to get going."

Henry bound down the stairs, hugged his mom goodbye and looked up, his eyes shifting between the two women. "The three of us are going to finish my project together tonight, right? Like we did last night?"

Emma looked at Regina and both women understood that no matter what was happening between them, they wouldn't let Henry feel like he was part of this fight. "Yeah, kid, now get in the car." Emma nodded and left Regina standing in the foyer, small and in pain.

The day went by too fast, probably because Emma wasn't looking forward to the evening ahead of her, which involved being with the woman she was pretty certain she had sort of left the night before. She picked up a bottle of whiskey on her way to get Henry from school and the two made it to the manor before the rain started pouring. Regina wasn't home yet, so Emma sent Henry to do his other homework in his room while she poured a full twelve ounce glass of whiskey and took it to her and Regina's shared room.

She put some jeans and shirts into a suitcase, followed by underclothing and socks. She grabbed her brush and mascara from the bathroom and tossed those in the case as well. She opened her top dresser drawer and took out the scarf Regina had used to blindfold her on their second date and put it in her coat pocket. Her glass was halfway emptied by the time she was carrying the suitcase downstairs. She tossed a pair of boots and a pair of riding boots on top of the suitcase and left it all in the foyer. She went into the kitchen and called to order a pizza and have it delivered about the time Regina should be home. She pulled out some paper plates and finished off the whiskey she had already poured and poured just a little more into the glass, drank that, rinsed her glass out and set it in the dishwasher. She hid the bottle in the cabinet where they kept most of their liquor, when Henry couldn't reach it.

When Henry came down she was already feeling heavily buzzed, and he noticed, though didn't say anything. He also noticed her bag in the foyer.

"What's the bag for?"

"Oh, I think I'm going to go to Boston for a few days."

"Why Boston?"

"It's home."

"Here is home, Emma, not Boston. That's stupid. Don't be stupid."

"Watch your mouth, kid."

Regina had walked into the kitchen as Emma was reprimanding their son. She was dripping wet, as the rain had started falling hard and quick since Emma and Henry arrived. The doorbell rang and Emma handed Henry a twenty.

"Go get the pizza, and tip him the rest." Henry took it and headed to the door, only leaving their argument because he knew his moms needed to talk.

"Emma, what is wrong with you?" Regina asked, stepping closer and Emma sighed. "You're drunk? It isn't even 6 yet, what is going on with you?"

"We need to talk."

"Obviously, but we can do so after Henry goes to bed, and until then you can manage to put on a show, as you've been doing with me for months, because you clearly never intended to stay. I'll be back, make yourself a pot of coffee."

Emma did so, but poured whiskey into the coffee she had in her hand, anyway. The three of them finished Henry's display and he had to write an explanation and write name cards for all of the planets, so his mothers kissed him goodnight and sent him to his room to finish and then to go to bed, while they discussed their issues.

"Emma, I'm sorry, I can't apologize enough, I never meant to make you feel bad. I'm just, I told you, I'm not very good at loving people."

"Regina, I just want to love you, you don't even have to love me back, you just have to let me love you. I don't want to be without you," as Emma spoke, her words were slightly slurred and Regina grabbed the whiskey bottle out herself and poured some into a glass, drank it, and poured some more. After her third round of liquid slid down her throat, Regina spoke.

"Emma, I do love you. I don't know how to handle you sometimes, but I do love you."

"Then what are we doing down here? Let's go upstairs."

Regina shook her head, knowing what the blonde was asking. Emma's response to Regina's denial of the request was lowering her mouth to the other woman's neck. She moved her lips down the side of her neck, and onto the dip before her shoulder. She undid several buttons from the brunette's white blouse and moved the shirt off her shoulder, kissing along the bare skin.

Regina, unable to resist the warmth of Emma's mouth, moaned and slid her hands up the back of the blonde's shirt. She pushed against her lover and soon the women were heading to their bedroom. Emma pushed Regina on the bed, and then closed the door behind her. She wasn't gentle with Regina, but neither woman cared, as they were both passed sober. She ripped Regina's shirt, pushing it over the tan shoulders, and reaching around her back to unclasp her white, lacy bra. Once she had the brunette's upper body bare she closed her mouth around one of the breasts below her, causing a moan to release from the brunette's closed mouth. When she released it, the women made a tangled mess of undressing and soon were making love, Emma above Regina, rarely looking away from the chocolate eyes she so loved.

Regina knew tomorrow would hurt if Emma decided to leave again, so she did everything she could while they were making love to remind Emma why they were so right for each other. As they moved their bodies together each woman grasped at the other as though they weren't sure they'd ever being doing this again, and when they were finished Emma rolled off of Regina and laid on her back. They were silent for a while, then Emma cleared her throat.

"Why can't it just always be this easy? I mean, when we're fucking it's always incredible, but it's never easy when we aren't."

"I wouldn't say it's never easy when we're not making love, we have plenty of easy times, everyone has fights Emma, it doesn't mean you need to leave."

Emma stood up, cursing. "See, this is exactly what I mean! You argue with me over anything and everything! Goddammit Regina, can't you just let it alone and agree with me?"

"Emma, I'm not arguing, I'm just telling you how I feel. Please come back to bed."

"No! All the time you make me feel like I'll never be good enough for you. Well, newsflash! You're the fucking Evil Queen, not me! So shove it, Regina!"

Regina had started to stand, but Emma's words made her sink back to the bed. Her face showed nothing, she wouldn't let it, but she was shocked and hurt. "I think you'd better leave, Miss Swan. You can have Henry on the weekends, if you must, pick him up at five sharp tomorrow, goodnight." Regina lay down on the bed and turned her back toward Emma.

"Regina, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, please, don't be mad," Emma rushed. She tried to pull Regina's body onto her back, but the brunette jerked away and refused to look at her, so she dressed herself and left, the storm heavy. She got into her car, taking her luggage and headed for Boston.

Regina moved the Emma's side of the bed after the blonde left and inhaled the scent that was now so familiar to her. She had always known there was a chance their relationship wouldn't work, but she never thought it would be so painful. The night solace brought her back to their first argument as a couple.

_"Regina, come on, Henry is allowed to stay at my parents house! They're his grandparents, and they've had him a hundred times before!" Emma had yelled back to her when Regina was upset about Henry's sleeping arrangements for that night._

_"Why did you feel as though you couldn't speak about it with me before making the decision? If we're going to be doing this partner thing, this parenting thing together, then we both need to be in on decisions regarding Henry."_

_"Fine, your majesty, I'll never act like one of Henry's mothers on my own, again. I apologize."_

_"Were you going to answer my question somewhere in your childish response or were you just going to pout?"_

_"Regina, fine! If you want me to, fine. I wanted to surprise you. I went to the market and bought some things, and I made a picnic. It's warm and I thought maybe we could go to the beach tonight and sleep under the stars, and do some not sleeping activities under the stars, too. You weren't meant to run into my mom with Henry before you came home, and I'm very sorry for that, but I really wanted to be romantic. We haven't had a night completely alone since I started living here. It's not like his school takes him on any out of town fieldtrips."_

_"I'm sorry, Emma, I shouldn't have overreacted. You know your parents are still a sensitive subject for me." _

She had held Emma the rest of the night, and they had done plenty of lovemaking, not sleeping nearly the entire night, but it hadn't been on the beach because after they blew up at each other, they could barely keep their hands to themselves. It was how they always ended their always-passionate fights, with good passion. She began thinking maybe that was over. She and Emma always said things they didn't mean in the heat of an argument, but Emma's words that night had hurt Regina worse than anything Emma had ever said or done. They hurt worse than when Henry hated her, because at least then he was a child who felt things differently than adults did.

**_Under haunted skies I see you  
Where love is lost your ghost is found  
I braved a hundred storms to leave you  
As hard as you try, no, I will never be knocked down_**

Emma drove across the boundary line out of Storybrooke; she left a note at her parent's door on her way out of town letting them know where she would be. She would work up some paperwork and come back to get Henry, and she would call him to tell him that tomorrow so he knew this had nothing to do with him. She knew that she hit below the belt, she knew what she was doing. She knew that no matter how much she tried to leave Regina, she wouldn't be able to leave her permanently because she was her True Love. She also knew that if she hurt Regina just right she would have nowhere to go back to, and maybe that was what she needed, was to not have the option.

As she drove the roads she knew easily to Boston, she thought back to the worst argument she had with Regina before they moved in together.

_"Miss Swan, you've barged into my office, now what can I do for you?" Regina had asked after Emma burst through the doors, not waiting to be permitted in._

_"I'm so sorry, Madame Mayor," Emma had responded smarmily, "but I believe that you owe me an explanation."_

_"Oh, do I, dear? And what would that be for?"_

_"Why did you fire David as my Deputy? That's completely unacceptable and completely my choice."_

_"No, my dear, I believe if one is Sheriff they cannot be in charge of the employment of any family members. So it is well within my place as Mayor to fire your father."_

_"So they give you back your mayorship and you fire my father, thank you so much! Now I get to further explain why I love such an impossible woman!"_

_"Why you what?"_

_"Nothing, fuck it, Regina. I'm tired of being torn between my family and you. Why did you even fire him, what could possibly be your reasoning?"_

_"Because I don't think he has the towns best interests at heart. I feel as though he is only interested in the peoples interests if they are part of the Charming clan of idiots, or whatever they call themselves."_

_"Oh and am I what you refer to as a 'member of the Charming clan of idiots?'"_

_"No, because you don't do everything they say, you're sheriff, you do your job."_

_"Regina, so help me god, if you do not reinstate him as my deputy, I quit as Sheriff, then you'll have to have an election, and I guarantee that the next Sheriff won't be sleeping with you like this one and the last."_

_"How dare you bring up Graham."_

_"You forget, you're the one that was in the wrong with Graham, not me."_

_"Emma Swan, get out of my office, now!" Regina had pushed Emma backwards and through her office door, locking it after she closed it._

Emma knew Regina's real reason for not wanting David as the deputy, then and now. Emma spent most of her time with her parents, she worked with David, she was still living with them at the time, and she and Regina tried to have few sleepovers because of Henry, so the two weren't alone together often and Regina had asked Emma to move in and was still waiting for the blonde's answer. It didn't reason fairly for the brunette, but Emma understood her motives.

**_I can't keep up with your turning tables  
Under your thumb I can't breathe_**

So, I won't let you close enough to hurt me,  
No, I won't rescue you to just desert me  
I can't give you the heart you think you gave me  
It's time to say goodbye to turning tables  
Turning tables

Regina called David at the station. He answered on the first ring and she asked him if he'd heard from Emma. He told her he hadn't but that he would call Snow and see if she had. Several minutes later her phone rang.

"Anything?" she breathed into the phone.

"Yeah, I'm afraid she left a note at the door of our apartment. Regina, what is going on with you two?"

"Is that really of concern to you now?"

"Yes, because she left."

"What do you mean, she left?"

"She left town, Regina."

"She's drunk and it's storming! Go find her!"

"I can't, you know I can't cross the town line."

"Damn you useless Charmings! Can you please send Snow to come watch Henry while I go rescue your stupid daughter?"

"Ok, Regina."

Regina pulled herself out of bed and dressed in black boot cut slacks, a black button-up blouse and a red blazer. She pulled on her dark trench coat and tied it at the waist. She pulled riding boots over her pants and put her purse on the table by the front door, waiting for Snow to arrive. She knew she shouldn't be driving either, but it had been some time since she drank with Emma that evening and should be mostly sober, someone needed to make sure Emma was ok, if only for her son's sake.

When Snow arrived, she told Regina to bring her daughter back safely, and headed into the study to try to sleep on the couch. Regina moved out to her car and headed to the town boundary line. As she got close to the border, her car spun out of control and fishtailed on the slick pavement. She jerked the wheel, trying to get the car under control. The thunder shook the car as it slammed into the very sign that Emma hit heading out of town the first night she arrived. Every look Emma had ever given her, every kiss they shared, and every touch ran through Regina's mind before she blacked out.

**_Next time I'll be braver  
I'll be my own savior  
When the thunder calls for me  
Next time I'll be braver  
I'll be my own savior  
Standing on my own two feet_**

Regina came to, and she didn't know quite how long she was out for, she just knew that she would be out again soon, she was lightheaded and when she touched the painful spot on her forehead, her hand came back covered in blood. She dug out her cellphone and called the police station. David answered on the first ring.

"Help," was the only word that Regina could breath before passing out again.

She woke up when David lifted her out of her car, she told him to grab her purse and passed back out. She heard him cursing and wondered if he was cursing at her or at himself, or even if it was to someone on the phone. The next time she came to was at the hospital, when David laid her down on a gurney.

"Emma," she whispered. "Please, get Emma."

David nodded, knowing that was what he needed to do. "I promise, I'm trying."

While Regina was in the operating room, David called Emma over and over. It was the middle of the night and he was afraid of what it meant that she wasn't answering her phone. Finally, an hour after he had arrived at the hospital with Regina, Emma called him back.

"This better be an emergency, David, because so help me if you're bothering me for no good reason, I'm going to be pissed. It's the middle of the night," was the answer he had gotten when he greeted his daughter.

"Emma." Saying her name alone got his point across.

"What? What happened? Is it Henry? Oh God, is it Regina?"

"Emma, you need to get back here. Regina went after you and she had an accident. She's in surgery, but she was at the accident sight for an undetermined amount of time and she's really lost a lot of blood."

"Why the hell did she come after me? She's so stupid!" Emma yelled into the phone. She was crying, David could hear it in her voice. He could also tell that when she called Regina stupid, it wasn't her insulting the other woman, it was her angry that her love had gotten hurt going after her, and she wasn't there. "I'm coming back, dad. Please, take care of her."

"How long?"

"I'll be there as soon as I can, two hours at most, I think I can manage."

"Ok, be safe."

Emma hung up; she couldn't believe this was happening. The two women could set records for serious injuries and ailments. She remembered the last time one of them was seriously harmed, it was herself, and Regina had saved her, they were always saving each other.

_"Hey babe, I'm going to be late for dinner tonight," Emma had said into the phone, already nearly six, when dinner was supposed to start. "I just got a call about someone lurking on the beach, suspiciously, apparently. I'm going to go check it out."_

_"Ok, dear, but be careful, and have David meet you there," Regina had responded, lovingly._

_Emma had walked carefully onto the beach, looking out for anyone suspicious, and sure enough she saw two guys, ones she didn't recognize, but as she hadn't been in Storybrooke for too long, that wasn't too unreasonable. Just in case she took out her phone and sent a message to David to come back her up. She didn't wait for him, though, she figured she would be fine and she went out to check out these guys. She decided to try the up front method and let them know her presence. _

_"Hey guys! I'm Sheriff Swan. Anything I can help you with?" she had said, walking up to them. It wasn't very late but it was already very dark and the beach was supposed to be closed after dusk._

_"No, ma'am we're just relaxing, having a couple drinks," one of the guys had said, standing. He stood almost a foot taller than Emma. "We don't want no trouble."_

_"I don't either, but you can't be here after dark, beach closes as dusk, and public drinking is illegal. You can go home, or I can take you in. Please, don't make me take you in."_

_"Hey, buddy," the man that was still sitting called to his friend. "Isn't she supposed to be the savior? The one who turned on the town by sleeping with the Evil Queen?"_

_"Yeah, yeah I think she is. What should we do?"_

_The other man was standing now, and both men were walking toward her. She pulled her gun out and cocked it, holding it in front of her as they walked closer. She got one shot in on one of the guys' legs. Then she felt a blow to the face. When she awoke she was in the hospital, battered and barely alive. Her entire left side was broken or sprained, her skill was fractured and her stomach had internal bleeding._

_Regina had come to the hospital and was in tears the second Emma woke up. She had begged Henry to allow her to heal Emma with magic, it had been a long time since she used her magic, but she thought she could do it. _

_Sure enough, Regina had mended her stomach and her skull, and most of the bones that were broken, but some had to remain unhealed._

_"Don't you ever do something that stupid again, Emma. I love you; I need you to stay around, ok? I need you to be alive for me to survive, do you understand me?" Regina had said to her when she and Emma were alone. _

Emma ran into the hospital looking for David or Snow or anyone who would be there for Regina. David was who she found.

"How is she?" she asked, running to him.

"She just got out of surgery, they're waiting."

"I have to see her."

"When Doctor Whale comes out, we'll ask him, ok?" David took Emma into his arms. "It'll be ok."

"I know, I know she will be, I just need to see her, I have to tell her I love her, I have to tell her we're ok."

"Of course you do, but she knows, you guys are each other's true love, you'll always be ok."

"No, David, I said something that she may not ever forgive me for, I really thought I was going to leave her, I really planned on it."

"You probably did, but it doesn't matter, you're here now."

Dr. Whale came out to speak to Emma and David.

"There was a lot of lost blood and she's on a transfusion, but she's still not awake. She had a lot of brain swelling, so she may never wake up."

"She will if I have anything to do with it," Emma said. "Can I see her?"

Dr. Whale nodded and led her to the room Regina was in. Emma walked to the bed after the doctor left her alone. She took one of the brunette's hands into her own.

"Regina, I need you to come back to me. I'm so sorry about what I said, it was so stupid and I didn't mean it. I've never met someone I could love more than I love you. You're everything, Regina, you are, and I need you. Henry needs you. Please, come back." With the last words she spoke, she leaned into Regina and put her lips to the full, cool, clean ones below her. A rush of energy caught her and her favorite lips pushed back into hers. She pulled away.

"Maybe next time you won't be so stupid."

"And maybe next time you won't be so mean," Emma responded. She leaned back down to kiss Regina again. "I thought True Love's Kiss only worked on curses."

"Yeah, that's not what woke me, you just kissed me at the right time."

"And the energy I felt?"

"Our magic, because we'll always have magic, and we were both feeling very passionately at the moment you kissed me."

"Ok. You seem ok."

"I am. I'm a little light headed still, but I'm ok."

"Do you want me to fix your brain with my magic?"

"No, dear, no need, I'll be fine."

Emma hesitated a moment. "Regina, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it, I mean, maybe I thought I did, but I didn't. You have never been _her_ to me. I love you always, you are always my queen, but you aren't evil, and I've never thought that."

"I know, Emma. And I'm sorry. I know I've been worse lately than usual, and it isn't fair to you. I love you, too, you know, I always will. I'll be better. Please don't leave me," Regina whispered, choking back a sob on her last four words.

"Never," Emma said. "I'll never turn the tables on you again."

"Same here, dear. This is it, this is all in."

"Always."

**_It's time to say goodbye to turning tables  
To turning tables  
Turning tables_**


End file.
